Women’s Empowerment through the Silk Industry of Assam, India, and its underlying Economy

In the medieval era, the Royal families of Assam, India produced Muga silk fabrics. During the time of the Koch Dynasty (Historical Koch Country), Muga silk from ancient Pragjyotishpur and Koch Behar became an integral part of the trade with Bengal, Bhutan, Tibet, and the Mughals. Most households in Assam weave cloth and every girl child in the household acquires weaving skills at a very young age from her mother. In Sualkuchi, a town in Assam, there are approximately 6,872 female weavers. These weavers are very concerned about the preservation of traditional handloom weaving as they feel that over time the skills required for this could disappear. They feel that they are unable to work as efficiently in their old age as they had in their youth. The automated machine seems to be a sign of hope for them, but at the same time, they have a strong attachment to the traditional handlooms. Quite recently, the traders have started procuring traditional garments manufactured from cloth made by automated machines. This is a threat to the local weavers since these garments are sold at a lower price, and this poses a challenge to the traditional handloom fabrics of Assam. A sustainable model needs to be incorporated to improve the conditions of the local weavers. The introduction of modern techniques and business strategies will help to empower the weavers. Muga is a noninflammable, anti-bacterial, natural, lustrous gold fabric which absorbs UV rays from sunlight. Pat silk is hypoallergenic, and it contains sericin, which reduces allergic reactions in the skin. Eri is antifungal, and this makes it a unique fabric for face masks, baby clothes, undergarments, blankets, quilts, medical uses, mosquito nets or special attire to protect one from UV rays, fungus, bacteria, and insects. The full range of the unique qualities of the fabrics of Assam should be widely publicized to increase the consumer demand for these handlooms. The area also has the potential to make castor oil out of the castor plant (Ricinus Communis Linn), which is a fed to the Eri Silkworm

Physical Abuse in the Absence of Ubuntu

Students in Africa and worldwide should learn about Ubuntu at the school, secondary school, college, and university levels. It should be incorporated into the educational process. Tobacco-free days, alcohol-free (dry days), and drug-free days could all be ways to commemorate Ubuntu. Female smokers are at a higher risk than male smokers. Following such measures may aid in raising awareness. Legislators in Africa need to employ incentives to amend legislation to fully integrate Ubuntu into society. It is possible to prevent violence against women and children by instilling Ubuntu principles in the community and society. It is sufficient to refer to the existing Ubuntu documentation to design and validate the necessary training programme. Still, in the case of Ubuntu, more experimental research should be encouraged. Such research must be funded by both the government and the private sector. Even though Ubuntu started in Africa, it can be globalized. Nevertheless, Ubuntu has not been adopted to its full potential in the current situation. The Zulu people of South Africa is well-known for its kindness and hospitality, and it is to them that we owe the concept of Ubuntu. According to Ubuntu, we are people not because of who we are but because of how we connect with other people. This implies that relationships are essential. With over three thousand diverse African tribes, diversity management is critical, and Ubuntu can be a driving force in bringing all the diversity under one umbrella. There are cultural mechanisms in all African traditions and events that exist “to unite”, but this aspect of unity is within the community, and Ubuntu can be implemented to lead the same element of harmony with various communities. There are ways to integrate Ubuntu as a cultural event into the calendar, bringing together diverse African communities as one force, culture, nation, and identity. Regardless of the level of diversity, the most important thing is to include everyone and give them the recognition they deserve

Tobacco Farming, Addiction, Promotion of Gender Equality, Well-being and Monopoly of the Indian Market

Women\u27s land rights are still suppressed in India because men hold most of the land, and men decide what crops to grow. Tobacco use and farming are both detriments to one’s health. It causes cancer, and cancer treatment is unavailable in the majority of India\u27s remote areas. On the other hand, tobacco is grown in remote regions of India, and cancer hospitals are concentrated in major cities. There are eight states in India\u27s north-eastern region, but only one cancer treatment facility in Guwahati, Assam. There is a need for new cancer hospitals in the north-eastern part of the country, where there is just one cancer hospital for eight states. Mindfulness training and tobacco harmful effects awareness education should be integrated into the educational curriculum and community centres. The school curriculum should include more mindfulness and psychoeducation about tobacco\u27s detrimental effects. The pandemic situation in India and elsewhere make any community-based response difficult right now. Some parts of India, such as A&I Island, the North-Eastern region of India, and J&K, lack high-speed internet connectivity; therefore, radio, television, audio CDs, audio files, recorded videos, reading materials, and cell phones may be the best ways to reach out. Internet-based outreach is another option. A non-governmental organisation (NGO) or other organisation would be required to create regional language reading material, audio files, and video files. Given the global pandemic crisis, such programmes must be put in place as soon as possible. A team of specialists, regional language experts, local cultural experts, and volunteers would be needed to achieve these objectives

Women\u27s Empowerment, Mindfulness, and Role of Women in Eradicating Alcohol and Drug Addiction from Indian Society

Women’s empowerment and self-help groups are functional and successful in India in most instances; it is possible to improve them further by incorporating quality parameters in the various training programs. Most of the locally organized skill-training by different empowerment cells operates effectively. Training and operating procedures must be devised to ensure that self-help groups meet international standards for their products. The training is often held in remote locations, making it difficult for the facilitator to visit and provide instruction. There must be established criteria for selecting trainers and a planned curriculum for training. There is a social impediment in the overall empowerment process; one of the social evils is drug and alcohol addiction and specific cultural and societal norms. Women can help to curtail such societal problems, and the Naga Mothers’ Association has made an impact in reducing addiction in Indian society. The Naga Mother’s Association is doing an excellent job of reducing addiction; however, their work needs to be supported by legislative provisions. Similar to the Naga Mothers’ Association, the women’s wing of the Koch Rajbongshi student union has been able to mobilize and disseminate information about the ill effects of addiction among its community members. This paper argues that mindfulness, a concept of Buddhist origin, is necessary to effect revolutionary change. Mindfulness and compassion are the keys to resolving the issue, but reflection is also an essential component of the practice of mindfulness and compassion. The leaders of these women’s associations are playing a pivotal role in helping to eradicate social evils and addiction from Indian society. One of the most critical components is mindfulness of the current situation and circumstances and making decisions accordingly

ANTIBACTERIAL, ANTI-ALPHA GLUCOSIDASE AND ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF DILLENIA PENTAGYNA ROXB. (DILLENIACEAE)

Objective: The persent investigation is carried out to assess in vitro antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-alphaglucosidase activity of the crude and fraction extracts of both leaf and fruits of the plant Dillenia pentagyna Roxb. (Dilleniaceae).Methods: Extracts prepared from leaf and fruits by drying and fractionation process. Antibacterial activity assessed by disc diffusion and liquid culture method. Antioxidant activity was assayed by superoxide radical scavenging capability and by DPPH scavenging capability. By using the enzyme α-glucosidase and substrate p-nitrophenyl glucopyranoside (pNPG), the inhibitory activity of the extracts was assayed.Results:  Crude extracts of fruits from both butanol fraction and chloroform fraction showed promising antibacterial activity in disc diffusion method through measuring inhibition zone. Both butanol and chloroform fraction showed a significant superoxide radical scavenging activity and using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl), butanol fraction extract of fruit showed a significant scavenging property. α-glucosidase (E.C No. 3.2.1.20) enzyme activity is inhibited significantly by the leaf extract of the plant.Conclusion: The results suggest that the crude plant extract contain some compounds which have antimicrobial activity, more potent antioxidant activity as well as α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.Keywords: Dillenia pentagyna, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, superoxide, α-glucosidase, DPPH

Centrality dependence of charged jet production in p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV

Measurements of charged jet production as a function of centrality are presented for p-Pb collisions recorded at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector. Centrality classes are determined via the energy deposit in neutron calorimeters at zero degree, close to the beam direction, to minimise dynamical biases of the selection. The corresponding number of participants or binary nucleon-nucleon collisions is determined based on the particle production in the Pb-going rapidity region. Jets have been reconstructed in the central rapidity region from charged particles with the anti-kT algorithm for resolution parameters R=0.2 and R=0.4 in the transverse momentum range 20 to 120 GeV/c. The reconstructed jet momentum and yields have been corrected for detector effects and underlying-event background. In the five centrality bins considered, the charged jet production in p-Pb collisions is consistent with the production expected from binary scaling from pp collisions. The ratio of jet yields reconstructed with the two different resolution parameters is also independent of the centrality selection, demonstrating the absence of major modifications of the radial jet structure in the reported centrality classes

Anisotropic flow of charged particles in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV

We report the first results of elliptic (v2), triangular (v3) and quadrangular flow (v4) of charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are performed in the central pseudorapidity region |η|<0.8 and for the transverse momentum range 0.2<pT<5 GeV/c. The anisotropic flow is measured using two-particle correlations with a pseudorapidity gap greater than one unit and with the multi-particle cumulant method. Compared to results from Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=2.76 TeV, the anisotropic flow coefficients v2, v3 and v4 are found to increase by (3.0±0.6)%, (4.3±1.4)% and (10.2±3.8)%, respectively, in the centrality range 0-50%. This increase can be attributed mostly to an increase of the average transverse momentum between the two energies. The measurements are found to be compatible with hydrodynamic model calculations. This comparison provides a unique opportunity to test the validity of the hydrodynamic picture and the power to further discriminate between various possibilities for the temperature dependence of shear viscosity to entropy density ratio of the produced matter in heavy-ion collisions at the highest energies

Multipion Bose-Einstein correlations in pp, p-Pb, and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC

Three- and four-pion Bose-Einstein correlations are presented in pp, p-Pb, and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC. We compare our measured four-pion correlations to the expectation derived from two- and three-pion measurements. Such a comparison provides a method to search for coherent pion emission. We also present mixed-charge correlations in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of several analysis procedures such as Coulomb corrections. Same-charge four-pion correlations in pp and p-Pb appear consistent with the expectations from three-pion measurements. However, the presence of non-negligible background correlations in both systems prevent a conclusive statement. In Pb-Pb collisions, we observe a significant suppression of three- and four-pion Bose-Einstein correlations compared to expectations from two-pion measurements. There appears to be no centrality dependence of the suppression within the 0-50% centrality interval. The origin of the suppression is not clear. However, by postulating either coherent pion emission or large multibody Coulomb effects, the suppression may be explained